Hermetic compressor

ABSTRACT

A hermetic compressor is constructed to easily cover a ground hole, thus preventing paint from flowing into the ground hole during a painting work. Into the ground hole is fitted a cap. The cap includes a head, a body, and a shoulder which are integrated with each other into a single structure. The head has a larger diameter than the ground hole. The body extends from the head, and has a similar diameter to the ground hole. The shoulder has a larger diameter than the ground hole, and is provided on a predetermined portion of the body to be spaced apart from the head by a thickness of the ground hole. When the cap is fitted into the ground hole, the head and the shoulder are respectively in close contact with portions around the ground hole. The shoulder has a side surface which is inclined at a predetermined angle with the body of the cap to form an inclined surface, thus allowing an upper end of the shoulder to be smoothly removed from the ground hole. The cap is made of rubber or a silicone.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.2003-85712, filed Nov. 28, 2003 in the Korean Intellectual PropertyOffice, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates, in general, to hermetic compressors and,more particularly, to a hermetic compressor, which is constructed sothat a cap is fitted into a ground hole, thus preventing paint fromflowing into the ground hole when a hermetic casing of the hermeticcompressor is painted, and preventing a bracket having the ground holefrom corroding when the hermetic compressor is stored in a place ortransported to a desired place.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, a hermetic compressor compresses a low-pressure gas to highlypressurize the low-pressure gas, prior to discharging the highlypressurized gas to an outside of a hermetic casing. The hermeticcompressor includes the hermetic casing, a compressing unit, and a driveunit. The compressing unit is installed in the hermetic casing tocompress the gas. The drive unit is installed in the hermetic casing todrive the compressing unit.

The drive unit includes a stator around which a coil is wound, and arotor. On an outer surface of the hermetic casing is mounted a contactterminal to supply electricity to the stator. The stator, the rotor, andthe contact terminal are coupled to each other by a plurality ofelectric wires, thus forming an electric circuit.

Further, a plurality of brackets each having a ground hole to reliablyground the electric circuit having both the stator and rotor to theearth or a conductive body serving in place of the earth, are providedon the outer surface of the hermetic casing, thus preventing an electriccurrent, leaked from the electric circuit due to a breakage of theelectric wires or a short circuit, from flowing along the hermeticcasing, therefore protecting a user from an electric shock or a fire.

In the hermetic compressor, the drive unit and the compressing unit areinstalled in the hermetic casing to be sealed in the hermetic casing.Thereafter, the outer surface of the hermetic casing is painted. At thistime, the paint must not flow into or cover the ground hole to which aground wire is electrically connected, so that the current leaked fromthe electric circuit due to a breakage of the electric wires or a shortcircuit, is safely guided to the earth or the conductive body serving inplace of the earth.

In the conventional hermetic compressor, an adhesive tape is attachedaround the ground hole before executing a painting work, thus preventingthe ground hole and a portion of the bracket around the ground hole frombeing covered with the paint. Therefore, the outer surface of thehermetic casing is painted except for both the ground hole and theportion of the bracket around the ground hole.

However, the conventional hermetic compressor has a problem in that theadhesive tape may be easily removed from the portion of the bracketaround the ground hole without being firmly attached to the portion ofthe bracket around the ground hole when the bracket having the groundhole is uneven or covered with impurities, thus causing the paint toflow into the ground hole.

In the conventional hermetic compressor, even when a worker attaches theadhesive tape to the bracket around the ground hole without carefulattention, a gap may be formed between the ground hole and the adhesivetape, thus allowing the paint to flow into the ground hole. Theconventional hermetic compressor has another problem in that it iscomplicated to attach the adhesive tape to the bracket around the groundhole.

The conventional hermetic compressor has a further problem in that aportion of the bracket around the ground hole is not painted because theadhesive tape wholly covers the ground hole, thus the bracket has a poorappearance and suffers rapid corrosion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide ahermetic compressor, which is constructed to easily cover a ground holeduring a painting work, thus reliably preventing paint from flowing intothe ground hole.

Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forthin part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obviousfrom the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

The above and/or other aspects are achieved by a hermetic compressor,including a hermetic casing, at least one bracket mounted to apredetermined portion of an outer surface of the hermetic casing, and aground hole provided on a predetermined portion of the bracket, with acap being made of an elastic material and being fitted into the groundhole to prevent paint from flowing into the ground hole during apainting work.

The cap may include a head having a larger diameter than the groundhole, and a body extending from the head. The body may have a similardiameter to the ground hole to be fitted into the ground hole through apress-fitting method.

A shoulder may be provided on a predetermined portion of the body of thecap to be spaced apart from the head of the cap by a thickness of theground hole, and may have a larger diameter than the ground hole. Thus,when the cap is fitted into the ground hole, the head is in closecontact with an outer surface of the bracket on which the ground hole isprovided, and the shoulder is in close contact with an inner surface ofthe bracket on which the ground hole is provided, thus preventing thepaint from flowing into the ground hole.

The shoulder may have a side surface which is inclined at apredetermined angle with the body of the cap to form an inclinedsurface, thus allowing an upper end of the shoulder to be smoothlyremoved from the ground hole.

The cap may be made of rubber or a silicone.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent and more readily appreciated from the following description ofthe preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hermetic compressor, according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cap to prevent paint from flowing intoa ground hole of the hermetic compressor of FIG. 1, with the cap beingdetached from the ground hole; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the cap of FIG. 2, with the cap beingfitted into the ground hole.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferredembodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustratedin the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer tolike elements throughout. The embodiment is described below in order toexplain the present invention by referring to the figures.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hermetic compressor, according to anembodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the hermeticcompressor according to the present invention includes a hermetic casing10, with upper and lower casings 11 and 12 being assembled with eachother to form the hermetic casing 10. A compressing unit (not shown) anda drive unit (not shown) are installed in the hermetic casing 10.

The upper and lower casings 11 and 12 are assembled with each other,through, for example, a welding process, to seal the compressing unitand the drive unit in the hermetic casing 10. An inlet pipe (not shown)is provided on a predetermined position of the hermetic casing 10 todraw a low-pressure gas into the hermetic casing 10. The low-pressuregas in the hermetic casing 10 is compressed to be highly pressurized bythe compressing unit. An outlet pipe (not shown) is provided on apredetermined position of the hermetic casing 10 to discharge the highlypressurized gas to an outside of the hermetic casing 10.

Further, a contact terminal 13 is provided on an outer surface of thelower casing 12 of the hermetic casing 10 to supply external electricityto the drive unit which drives the compressing unit. A relay bracket 14is provided on the outer surface of the lower casing 12 around thecontact terminal 13. Further, a mounting bracket 15 is provided on theouter surface of the lower casing 12 below the contact terminal 13, sothat the hermetic casing 10 is installed at a desired position, forexample, in a refrigerator or in an air conditioner, using the mountingbracket 15.

The relay bracket 14 and the mounting bracket 15 each have a ground hole20 to prevent a current, leaked from an electric circuit of the hermeticcompressor due to a breakage of electric wires or a short circuit, fromflowing along the hermetic casing 10, thus preventing safety hazards.

After the compressing unit and the drive unit are installed in thehermetic casing 10, outer surfaces of the upper and lower casings 11 and12 are painted. At this time, the ground holes 20 must not be coveredwith paint so that the current leaked from the electric circuit due tothe breakage of the electric wires or the short circuit is safely led tothe earth of a conductive body serving in place of the earth, withoutflowing along the hermetic casing 10.

The hermetic compressor according to the present invention includes aplurality of caps 30. Each of the caps 30 is easily fitted into anassociated ground hole 20 to prevent the paint from flowing into theground hole 20. The construction and operational effects of the caps 30will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cap 30 to prevent the paint fromflowing into the ground hole 20 formed on the relay bracket 14 includedin the hermetic compressor of FIG. 1, with the cap 30 being detachedfrom the ground hole 20. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the cap 30 fittedinto the ground hole 20.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cap 30 according to the present inventionincludes a head 31, a body 32, and a shoulder 33, that are integratedwith each other into a single structure. A lower end of the head 31 hasa flat surface with a diameter larger than the ground hole 20, so thatthe head 31 is in close contact with an outer surface of the relaybracket 14 around the ground hole 20 when the cap 30 is fitted into theground hole 20.

The body 32 extends from the lower end of the head 31 to a predeterminedlength. The body 32 has a diameter similar to the ground hole 20 to passthrough the ground hole 20.

The shoulder 33 is integrally provided on a predetermined portion of thebody 32 In this case, an upper end of the shoulder 33 has a diameterslightly larger than the ground hole 20 to be in close contact with aninner surface of the relay bracket 14 around the ground hole 20 when thecap 30 is fitted into the ground hole 20.

A length L1 between the lower end of the head 31 and the upper end ofthe shoulder 33 is similar to a thickness L2 of the ground hole 20 whichcorresponds to a thickness of the relay bracket 14 having the groundhole 20. As shown in FIG. 3, when the cap 30 is fitted into the groundhole 20, an insert part 32 a of the body 32 provided between the head 31and the shoulder 33 is placed in the ground hole 20. At this time, thelower end of the head 31 is in close contact with the outer surface ofthe relay bracket 14 around the ground hole 20, while the upper end ofthe shoulder 33 is in close contact with the inner surface of the relaybracket 14 around the ground hole 20.

A lower end of the shoulder 33 has an equal diameter to a diameter ofthe body 32. Further, a side surface of the shoulder 33, which extendsfrom the upper end to the lower end of the shoulder 33, is inclined toform an inclined surface.

The cap 30 constructed as described above is made of an elastic materialto be fitted into the ground hole 20 while being in close contact withthe ground hole 20. According to the embodiment of the presentinvention, the cap 30 is preferably made of rubber or a silicone.

Thus, when it is required to paint the outer surfaces of the upper andlower casings 11 and 12, a user holds the head 31 of the cap 30constructed as described above and fits the body 32 of the cap 30 intothe ground hole 20. When the body 32 passes through the ground hole 20,the shoulder 33 is elastically compressed to a size to correspond to theground hole 20, thus the body 32 passes through the ground hole 20.

After the shoulder 33 passes through the ground hole 20, the shoulder 33elastically restores an original shape thereof, thus being in closecontact with the inner surface of the relay bracket 14 around the groundhole 20. Therefore, when the cap 30 is fitted into the ground hole 20,the insert part 32 a of the body 32 is placed in the ground hole 20, andthe lower end of the head 31 and the upper end of the shoulder 33 arerespectively in close contact with the outer surface and the innersurface of the relay bracket 14 around the ground hole 20, thuspreventing the paint from flowing into the ground hole 20 during apainting work.

The present invention has been described herein, with reference to thecap 30 fitted into the ground hole 20 of the relay bracket 14, as shownin FIGS. 2 and 3. However, because another cap 30 having the sameconstruction as the cap 30 of the relay bracket 14, is fitted into theground hole 20 of the mounting bracket 15 (see, FIG. 1) in a same manneras the cap 30 of the relay bracket 14, the cap 30 fitted into the groundhole 20 of the mounting bracket 15 will not be described herein.

As is apparent from the above description, the present inventionprovides a hermetic compressor, which is constructed so that a cap isfitted into a ground hole of a bracket. The cap includes a body, a headand a shoulder, that are integrated with each other into a singlestructure. The body is made of an elastic material, and passes throughthe ground hole. The head and the shoulder of the cap are respectivelyin close contact with portions of the bracket around the ground hole.When the cap constructed as described above is fitted into the groundhole of the bracket, the cap easily covers the ground hole during apainting work, thus preventing paint from flowing into the ground hole.Therefore, the hermetic compressor allows a current, leaked from anelectric circuit of the hermetic compressor due to a breakage ofelectric wires or a short circuit, to safely flow to the earth or aconductive body serving in place of the earth along a ground wireconnected to the ground hole.

Although an embodiment of the present invention has been shown anddescribed, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatchanges may be made in these embodiments without departing from theprinciples and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined inthe claims and their equivalents.

1. A hermetic compressor, comprising: a hermetic casing; at least onebracket mounted to a predetermined portion of an outer surface of thehermetic casing; and a ground hole provided on a predetermined portionof the bracket, with a cap being made of an elastic material and beingfitted into the ground hole to prevent paint from flowing into theground hole during a painting work.
 2. The hermetic compressor accordingto claim 1, wherein the cap comprises: a head having a larger diameterthan the ground hole; and a body extending from the head to have asimilar diameter to the ground hole, the body being fitted into theground hole through a press-fitting method.
 3. The hermetic compressoraccording to claim 2, further comprising a shoulder provided on apredetermined portion of the body of the cap to be spaced apart from thehead of the cap by a thickness of the ground hole, and having a largerdiameter than the ground hole, so that the head is in close contact withan outer surface of the bracket on which the ground hole is provided,and the shoulder is in close contact with an inner surface of thebracket on which the ground hole is provided, when the cap is fittedinto the ground hole, thus preventing the paint from flowing into theground hole.
 4. The hermetic compressor according to claim 3, whereinthe shoulder has a side surface which is inclined at a predeterminedangle with the body of the cap to form an inclined surface, thusallowing an upper end of the shoulder to be smoothly removed from theground hole.
 5. The hermetic compressor according to claim 1, whereinthe cap is made of rubber.
 6. The hermetic compressor according to claim1, wherein the cap is made of a silicone.